My Birthday Boys......

Well, the end of August is the time that we get to celebrate the birthdays of my honey and my "sugarmuffin" (I am sure that I will hear about this one) :0)

August 22nd was Chad's birthday (I guess at our age we quit telling which number that it is). I tried to get in touch with him at work to find out if he wanted to go out for his dinner or eat at home and after not hearing from him...I started cooking. We had a nice meal together and I made his favorite dessert-coconut cream pie. Although he did keep asking me who made it so I guess that he thought his mom whipped it up before they left to head to Kentucky. We gave him a few gifts but it was a wonderful time to celebrate Chad and the wonderful husband, father and provided that he is, and always continues to be, for our family.

Happy Birthday honey. I can't believe as I look back on the years we have been together all the changes that we have seen and made. But "WE" are a constant, a comfort and a unchanging item in the world we live in. I know all the changes lately have been hard and stressful on you but all of us are so proud of you and the goals that you have set and achieved in your life. I can see where each of the boys get their determination and drive for life and that, my dear, is a great blessing that you have bestowed upon them. We love you.

They ONE WEEK LATER..I became the mother of a teenager. CAN YOU BELIEVE IT???? Austin turned 13. It seems like just yesterday that he was born and was a little toddler running around the house. It is amazing that it seems you blink and your children grow right before your eyes. You wish you could slow time down a little but since we can't I guess it is just a lesson in learning to appreciate every moment and opportunity that you have to share together. Because one day you will turn around and they will be all grown up. Hmmmm...

Well, we celebrated Austin's birthday at Osaka Japanese Hibachi steakhouse (his choice) and had a wonderful evening. Rick joined us for dinner which added to the joy of the celebration not only for Austin but for all of us. This weekend we are going to try to have a cookout and invite over Daddy and Frances and group to continue to celebrate him entering his teen years. Scary to think of how quickly they grow up....and how soon he will be driving!!!

Happy Birthday to you too Austin. You are growing into a wonderful young man, one I am very proud of and one who continues to amaze me all the time with the way that you live you life and be the "leader". That is a great gift that God has blessed you with and I pray that you will always listen to Him and allow him to guide you in the decision that you make for your life. Reach for the stars and aim high in your goals....you can do whatever you set your mind to and we look forward to continuing the journey with you.

Remembering the man.....

"To live in the hearts of those you leave behind is never to die...."

-Robert Orr

I attempted to complete this blog yesterday, August 27th, because it was Grandpa's birthday and he would have been 98 years old. I found each time I sat down to complete it that the words weren't there and the emotions were there ten fold. So I decided to walk away and try again today. And today, the feelings of getting the post completed meant also completing a tribute to the man Grandpa was. So today it came much easier.

It seems that as time passes, it should get easier to deal with the loss of Grandpa. Although I, as well as all of the family, know that he is in his eternal home in Heaven it still makes the grief of losing him heavy on your heart...especially in times when you celebrate him.

So today (or rather yesterday) I would like for everyone to celebrate our Grandpa. The wonderful husband, father, mentor, story teller and HERO that he is to so many people. He touched so many lives with not only his wonderful personality but with his love of Christ and his desire to share that love with others. I always looked up to my Grandpa with eyes full of wonderment as he filled my ears with stories of his childhood and life during the Depression. I see the love that my mother had for her father and the care and respect that she gave to him right through to the end of his time on earth. It wasn't always easy and sometimes was a tough love, but the thing is...the love was still there and there will never be any regrets, no need for do-overs and never a need for any of us to question our feelings toward our Grandfather/Father or the love that he reciprocated back to us.

Those of you who didn't get the honor of knowing him, I hope that as you go through life knowing me, you will get to see a part of the man that he was through the way that I live my life each day. I am proud to be Vivian James' granddaughter and will continue to celebrate him, as often as I can, to make sure those around me know the wonderful man that I consider one of my HEROS.

Happy Birthday Grandpa and we will always love you.....

Gentle Giant

Before moving to Tennessee, and when I say before I mean four days before, I had to have Shelby put to sleep. Those of you who were fortunate enough to encounter Shelby will know that she was the most Gentle of Giants and was a dog that I felt God sent to me at the time when I needed her most. She was an older dog (almost 5 years old) when we adopted her but from day one she has had the loyalty and companionship of a dog that a family had since she was a puppy. She meant so much to me and the loss of her took such a piece of me with it because not only did I feel in some way that I was letting her down, it was happening at a very stressful time in my life with everything else going on. I have grieved for Shelby, for the dog that she was to me and my family, for the companionship and loyalty that she gave me but mostly because she was by my side through some really hard times medically. I could look at the side of my bed, or the couch where I was laying and she would be there beside me like a nurse tending to her patient. She will always be such a special dog to me and I thank God for giving her to me for the years that we were together. I wrote a poem about Shelby after having a rough night sleeping (well in all honesty Chad had the rough night because he is the one that I was beating up) but I hope that you can see the wonderful nature and personality that Shelby had and I thank her for all the love that she put into my life.

God fills your life with people

who will satisfy your needs.

Be it parents, siblings, spouse, kids, friends,

whomever it may be.

Sometimes that someone in order to find

you have to go and "get".

At a store or kennel, breeder or shelter

because that someone becomes your pet.

Mt pet, my baby, my Shelby Girl

was found one day by grace.

And I fell in love with everything about her

the minute I saw her face.

A casual visit, we didn't need a thing,

just strolling through PetSmart.

Austin hollared at me and I rounded the corner

and she instantly had my heart.

Convincing Chad though to bring her home

was going to be a chore.

She was beautiful, but mangy-spry, but 5 years old

and quite a BIG dog for sure!

Well, the battle was won and I brought Shelby home

and she made our home complete.

Everyone loved her, she was great with the kids.

No other dog could compete!

God decided it was Shelby's time to come home-

she had finally fulfilled her need.

So painfully and tearfully

I carried out that deed.

Shelby was my baby, my companion,

the best dog to my kids, my "Bess"

And now I hope for all that she gave me

She is able to get some rest.

She was loyal and loving, giant yet gentle

Loving as can be-

But most of all-without coincidence

she was God's great gift to me!

Love to you all and til next time-

A Leap of Faith

As most of you know our family has relocated to Collierville, Tennessee because of a job promotion that Chad received. Now those of you who know me well, will know that I am definately a create of habit and change is not something that I welcome with open arms. After many weeks of talking about it, praying about it and discussing it with the boys (who I might add at first were NOT going and told us they would see us whenever we made it back through Kentucky), we made the decision to move.

Growing up in Kentucky was wonderful to me. It is a beautiful state and has so much to offer that those of us that have lived there all "our lives" seem to take for granted. Having all the securites of "home" are also something that I think so many people take for granted....until time comes that they uproot those securities and move to a place that they hardly know anyone and finding their way around town becomes quite and adventure at times. I can remember my sister Jennifer (who is the reason that I am starting this blog site) and I used to drive out in the country of Lexington just to see how lost that we could get and how fun we thought that it was to try to be able to find our way back home. Well, let me tell you, I have not had any of those "fun" feelings driving around Memphis and everytime I initially had to enter my car to travel somewhere, the sense of panic began to set in.

Now as the weeks have begun to pass, the boys have settled into their new schools (oh, by the way, they both finally decided that they would be traveling with us on this move) and they are making more friends each and every day. Chad is becoming more adjusted in his job each day and I am hoping that as he continues to be more adjusted that it means that the hours that he works each day will decrease some. I have been adjusting to life in Tennessee also and each day brings with it a better sense of comfort in regards to the area and my ability to safely navigate my family and myself around. Just ask Mom and Dad. They came to see us a few days ago and I was totally stressed about having to drive MY PARENTS and get us from point A to point B but tried to act like I had been doing it for years. Well, we did make our destination but we may not have taken the most reasonable route and...I was still a nervous wreck. :0) I will be starting a new job in a few weeks at the Baptist Women's Hospital and I look forward to getting back to work (part time) as I think that will also help me continue to meet new people and continue to learn the community.

So to say that our journey is over....well, I think I am afraid to say that it is just beginning BUT I am excited about the journey because now that the hard part of it (leaving Kentucky) is behind me, I can focus on trying to make the best home and family like for the boys and myself and Chad as new residents of Tennessee.

BUT as I have always told people when they ask....we will always continue to bleed BLUE !!!!

Love to you all and til next time-